Craig, the Senate candidate, says she regrets the vote on immigration

In a major reversal during the U.S. Senate race in Minnesota, Democratic Rep. Angie Craig said Monday that she regretted voting for an immigration law sought by President Donald Trump that would give agents more detention power.

The passage last January of the Laken-Riley Act, which allows noncitizens to be held without bail if they are accused of robbery, assaulting a police officer or other crimes, has received little Democratic support. But Craig, who represents the swing 2nd Congressional District, was the only Minnesota DFL member to break ranks.

In a Comment posted Writing in the Minnesota Star Tribune, Craig said she considered voting in the wake of federal immigration enforcement actions in the state that led to thousands of arrests and the shooting death of two U.S. citizens by immigration agents. Looking back, she wrote that she would have done things differently.

“It is true that the President is not using any laws to carry out these sweeping immigration raids that have terrorized Minnesotans, but it has also become clear that supporting any bill that would give ICE new authority in this administration was the wrong decision,” Craig wrote. “And I regret my vote.”

The vote and response to ‘Operation Metro Surge’ more broadly was a prominent issue in the nomination competition in the German Football League. U.S. Senate candidate Peggy Flanagan, lieutenant governor of Minnesota, highlighted Craig’s vote on the law and criticized her as out of step on the issue, especially after the lengthy process that brought thousands of agents to Minnesota.

Flanagan and Craig are competing for the seat that U.S. Sen. Tina Smith, a fellow Democrat, will vacate after this year.

For months, Craig defended her vote on the legislation, saying the law required due process before being removed from the country.

“Minnesotans believe we should protect our borders, and most Minnesotans agree that undocumented individuals who commit crimes, including violent crimes, should be detained. It still requires due process,” Craig told MPR News in January.

She was asked about the vote at a recent meeting with college Democrats and said the bill was incomplete. She added that the Trump administration did not follow this law or any other law in its recent immigration enforcement measures. Flanagan’s campaign pointed to that and other exchanges as evidence of the candidates’ clear difference on immigration.

The winner of the race between Craig and Flanagan, which could make it to the primary in August, will face one of several Republicans vying for that party’s nomination. The GOP candidates were in agreement with the Trump administration on immigration issues.